Wow, that is a mouthful for the title of this blog post…but, it is what it says it is. The National Association of Letter Carriers have committed themselves once again to their annual food drive. They do this to help combat hunger. In the last two years in the United States, more than 50 million people have found themselves living in homes that don’t have enough food. This is outrageous, we can all do something to help. No one should go hungry in a country that supplies other nations with food from our surplus produce that farmers work so hard to grow.

You may say, I am only one person…what can i do? You can support the National Association of Letter Carriers help stamp out hunger by leaving a bag at your mail box, on Saturday May 14, 2011, with non-perishable food items. That is only 2 days from now. Make sure that the items you are donating are not out of date or in danger of expiring any time soon. Don’t have a lot to give; give what you can. If you are blessed enough to have the means to give…give generously; we all have a responsibility to share our blessings with others.

Support businesses and organizations that sponsor the annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive. This is an amazing grass roots program that blesses your local food banks. All the food collected by your local mail carrier stays in your local area. The people you help may be your own friends, family or neighbors. With the economy being so challenging in recent years more people are affected by not having enough to eat. The numbers of children in homes without enough food is rising. The elderly are having a harder time making ends meet. Young wage earners are finding themselves without steady income to support their families sufficiently. Natural disasters have hurt many families and those people still need to eat. Churches can’t do it all…they need our help to provide food for those who are struggling with hunger! Won’t you help?

Would you like to learn more? Visit their website here: Stamp Out Hunger and if you happen to have a Facebook account or a Twitter account…then Like them or Follow them to lend your support. Spread the work online and off. Tell others about the food drive…encourage others to donate.

Remember to thank your mail carrier. They are dedicated to helping people stamp out hunger in your community. Do you know someone who has had to use food from a food pantry or food bank? Tell them about my friend Connie who heads up a website that teaches people how to eat healthier with the food that they bring into their homes through SNAP, food pantries, commodities, and farmer’s markets. She does this in a way to help people stretch their budgets and to encourage the people who visit her website to form a community to share tips and ideas with one another. Her site isn’t just for food stamp users…but for anyone on a tight budget who wants and needs to eat well. Food Stamp Cooking Club

It appears that some employers are of the mind that, because of the economy, employees should be so grateful to have a job; that they must do whatever it takes to not only get a job, but to keep it. Some employers are now requiring employees, or even potential employees, to sign an agreement that they are willing to work 24/7; meaning that if and when an employee is needed they must be willing to come in to work; no matter what time of the day, or even what day of the week it is that they work.

It is my understanding that there is nothing against the law about this agreement. If an employee doesn’t willingly agree to this…they may not be hired; or if they’ve already been hired and refuse to sign this agreement, they can be fired or scheduled for work so little, that an employee is compelled to start looking for a new job.

I don’t know about you, but this doesn’t sit right with me. If you would like to finish reading click here: Writewhereyouare

I know people who are struggling, people who have cut back in every conceivable way to save money just to stay afloat. I also know people who are living very comfortably in nice homes, with fancy vehicles, going out to eat regularily and have no worries when it comes to bills or their health. The world definately has classes of people who are in the haves and the have nots. There is also a large population of people who are somewhere in the middle. The thing is…we all have things that we could share. Blessings come in many packages.

Everyone of us has gifts, talents, finances, possessions, strengths, knowledge or time that we could share with others. What I love to celebrate and learn about are those who share those blessings with others without thought or expectation of getting something back from that experience of sharing.

Our society is going through some amazingly challenging times…people are struggling. We need to be aware of others around us who are in need…those who could use a little pick me up. It could be a kind word, a nice deed, financial gift, or it could be a sharing of knowledge that could bring a positive change to another. There is a spiritual attitude that I love, it says this: “Those to whom much is given, much is expected in return”. I call that an attitude of gratitude; being thankful for all that you have been blessed with and a willingness to share it with others! I challenge you to find some way to bless others in your daily life. Consider this a compassionate call to action…what can you give to others with no strings attached?

I have moved my site to a new Url: WriteWhereYouAre if you are interested in reading more blog posts!

I got to thinking this past week about a strange set of circumstances. My husband, Jeff Wellman and his partners, Dixie Brown & Paul Counts, launched an internet marketing product and the response was so over the top that I was a bit perplexed. I mean…people were calling to say thank you for the customer service, people were amazed that he (the product owner), answered his own phone, people being shocked that he even put his own (real) phone number on the product page.

One caller was so taken aback that he laughed and said he had something all prepared to leave on a voice mail…and, when the phone was answered by the product owner…he didn’t know what to say; now that is kind of funny! The whole response, to this old fashioned way of doing business, was wonderful in an amazing sort of way…it got me thinking; are we so deprived of good customer service that when we experience it, we are flustered enough that we feel we must acknowledge it? 🙂 (more…)

There is a debate brewing about whether news media should have access to photograph the coffins of returning military men and women, killed in the line of duty, when their bodies are returned to Dover Air Force Base. There is strong controversy about whether this should be allowed or not. In 1991, President George H. Bush enacted a ban on the photographing of the coffins. It just was not allowed to happen, by the order of the President.

This has been a matter of contention. Some people believe that allowing the photographs could make an impact on the minds of the citizens of the United States as to the cost of war; as the death toll rises from the wars in recent years. There are many who feel that by not seeing the evidence of the coffins, people would not understand the depths of the sacrifice that our service persons were making. In effect, out of sight…out of mind. (more…)

Twitter is quickly becoming a way of life for many businesses and folks. Anytime twitter shows a fail whale…(the symbol a person sees when trying to access Twitter and its service is unavailable) people quickly bemoan the fact that they can’t get on. 🙂 The fail whale doesn’t usually last long…I’ve only seen it a few times; briefly, when it was over capacity with Twitter users. Twitter is a mini social site that is quickly becoming a large social media site; the idea is to answer in 140 characters or less the question, ” What are you doing?”. Often, I hear other users say that they quickly become “addicted” to Twitter. The service has spawned a bunch of books on Twitter etiquette….rules or no rules use. Reasons for using Twitter is as varied as the number of people you ask…everyone has their own reasons for using it. Relationships are built online…everyone has equal access to other users…both famous and non-famous users. The latest controvery of this company which has been in business for approximately 3 years is…should they charge a fee for their services?

So far, the Twitter service is free. There is some discussion about whether businesses may be charged to use Twitter in the future. People are still discovering Twitter and all that it can do. Many people of course, use Twitter as a social networking service for their personal communication; others, are trying to find ways to use it to brand their businesses.

Twitter has been uber successful in their goals of creating a mini social networking site. At the end of 2008, Twitter rejected a bid for purchase by Facebook of $500 million. To me, that means that they view their value as well over that $500 million; and it means to me that Facebook considers it a huge competitor. Still, to stay competitive with Facebook as well as other large entities…Twitter will need to make money to stay alive and growing.

Businesses have to make money somewhere to stay in business and pay their own employees. Do they raise funds by putting advertising on their service, by charging for upgraded services for business accounts, or maybe charge a membership fee? What do you think? Do you use Twitter? What are your thoughts on this subject?